Spring, and the great unknown

Spring is here. Just like that, after a seemingly endless and grueling winter, the grass is growing, flowers are blooming, and buds are sprouting from bare branches. It can’t be stopped, no matter how much snow and ice comes down each winter, spring will come. Everything returns to the way it was a year ago.

But it’s not the same. It’s never the same. This is the devious trick of nature, to give us a sense of comforting permanence when below the surface, everything is growing, shifting under our feet, until we look around one day and realize we are not at the place we thought we were. We are somewhere new, perhaps someplace wonderful, perhaps someplace terrifying.

But if nature wasn’t continually growing, changing, shedding one skin for another, it would stagnate and die. That’s another hidden irony of nature, things need to constantly move in order to stay as they are.

Such is the life of an artist, we have to keep moving forward, even if it means taking risks. This can be just as difficult in art as it is in life. Though in many ways it is easier to take chances in art, because you can always tear up the page and start over.

I’ll be embarking on some new projects this spring, and I’ll share what I can. In the meantime, I’ll be attending some events in the next few weeks — the NESCBWI conference, the Needham Open Studios May 2-3, and the Maine Comics Arts Festival May 17. I’ll also be celebrating with Puppet Showplace Theater at their annual fundraising gala.

It’s a season of new exploration, and hopefully new inspiration. I hope you all find yourselves in a good place this Spring, or at least heading in the right direction!

About Me

I am the author and illustrator of four books for children, including A Froggy Fable, The Clever Stick, and the Sticky Burr series. I'm also an animator, musician, puppeteer, and interactive designer. (Read more.)